The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1887-04-08
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nor what it would be, if more care wa,
bestowed on the crop. The average
yield per acre is about thirty-thret
bushels, or one-third the amount tina,
it is possible to produce. For a series
of years Maine has stood first in pro
ducing large crops of corn, according
to the report of the national depart
ment of agriculture. The climate o
the state is cold, the growing season
very fshort. and the soil, which wat
never rich, is impoverished BY contIn
uaf groupings. The large yield OF
corn there shows what can be accom-
plished by good tilage. If corn was
planted and cultivated in Maine as ii
is in most farms in Illinois and Iowa
the average yield would not be over
ten bushels per acre. The difficulty Of
raising corn there causes farmers ia
make every exertion to cur a large
crop. Like care on the part of farm.
ers in the pairie region of the wesi
would make the average yield of corr
at least eighty bushels per acre. When
we consider the richness of our soil
and its freedom from stnmps and stones
our small corn crops reflect on the way
corn-fields, are managed. No farmer in
what are called the great corn-growing
states should be satisfied with a smaller
yield than fifty bushels per acre, and his
constant aim should be seyenty-fve
bushels.
A variety of causes combine to re.
duce the yield of corn in the western
states far below what it should be.
There is too much machine work and
little hand work, or, as Is commonly
the case, no hand work of any kind. A
sulky pillow is used to prepare the land,
n machine is employed for dropping
the seed and for covering it, and a rid.
ing c%ultivator performs all the work
once done BY the hoe in the hands of an
intelligent workman. That machines
are a great aid in doing field work is
not to be questioned, bu. it is certain
that they should not entirely supersede
hand labor. Not only every hill OF
corn in a field, but every stalk should
come under the observation of the cult
vator more than once during the grow
ing season, 1t is very hard to find
anything approaching a perfect row Of
corn or even a well-managed western
farm. Some hills will contain more
stalks than can grow and produce
good corn, while others will not con-
tain the requisite number. Quite likely
there will be hills in which there are no
stalks, for the reason that the seed did
not terminate, or was eaten by birds or
| squirrels. Sometimes the seed sprout-
ed, but the young stalk came in con-
tact with stones or pieces of turf and
their growth was stopped. No machine
can be relied upon for planting corn in
missing hills. for thinning stalks, or
fer removing things that obstruct the
growth of young and tender stalks.
Sufficient care is not taken in obtain
ing suitable varieties to plant OF in pro-
curing that which is reliable. Many
who plant the seed they raise are at no
pains to cure it properly. They select
ears from the crib at planting time, and
never test the vitality of the grains.
Quite likely the cobs and kernels were
full Of moisture when they were thrown
into the crib. If this was the case the
chances are that the water froze before
the corn become dry and destroyed the
germs. The surface of the ears locked
we'll, but there was no vitality III many.
Of the grains. The losses resulting
from planting varieties of corn not
suited to the locality or seed not mature
or properly cured are very large every
year. Every corn-raiser should en-
deavor to obtain the variety best suited
to the climate and soil where Ese lives,
and he then should endeavor to inn
prove it by judicious selection Of cars
and kernels. Ears intended for seed
should be selected while the stalks are
still standing in the field. They should
not remain exposed to the rain and
frost till the snow flies. They should.
be traced up, hung in the snow under
an open shed, or placed in a warm, airy
chamber where they viii be kept dry
and out Of the way Of vermin. A hop
curing house or a chamber used for
seasoning lumber is a good place for
drying seed orr
Many western farmers entertain the
idea that several successive crops OF
corr can be raised withcGS de-
creasing the fertility OF prairie soil and
they are only convinced of their error.
when their fields fail to make a fair re-
turn for the labor that is expended on
them. Corn ranks among the grass
feeders, and its supply Of food should
not be stinted. Land devoted to corn
should receive some plant food every
year. If there is not sufficient stable
and ~barn-yard manure for the purpose.
clover and other grain crops should be
raised and turned under. Cornstalks,
if cut and buried by the pillow, will aid
in keeping up the fertility of the soil.
1t is as easy to cut up a field of corn
that Yields aaYcntv hnshals per acre ia